Do genetics really control our destiny? (Photo: ShutterStock)
Until not many years ago, scientists believed that our DNA was the key to preventing and treating diseases.
But today we know that our environment and not our genes is the main factor responsible for our health and our lifespan.
In the 20th century it was believed that genetics would lead to the solution of all health problems.
In these years, the structure of DNA was discovered, the PCR method was developed, and the human genome project, designed to map all human genes, was launched.
During these years, the opinion was widespread that genes almost completely determine our health and behavior, and this was called "biological determinism".
However, it soon became clear that this was not the case.
Craig Venter, one of the researchers of the Human Genome Project, understood the limitations of using genetics to predict and prevent diseases and even came out with a statement that "we simply don't have enough genes for the idea of biological determinism to work."
Today we know that our genes are responsible for only about 10 percent (!) of human disease.
"The genes can load the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger."
It turns out that all the things we are exposed to, from the moment our mother became pregnant, to the present time, affect our health.
These things include the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, our social relationships, the choices we make throughout our lives, and even the health of our parents when they conceived us.
The scientists call all these exposures "exposome", and the term expresses all the environmental exposures that affect our health.
In other words: "The genes can load the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger."
We can divide the exposome into three groups:
1. Specific external environmental factors:
diet, physical activity, drinking water, cosmetic products, smoking, various infections and chemical pollutants.
This also includes environmental factors at the beginning of our lives such as: the health of our mother and father at the time we were conceived, were we born by normal or caesarean delivery and were we breastfed?
2. General external environmental factors:
such as the climate, urban or rural environment, level of education, economic and social situation.
3. Internal environment:
such as our metabolism, our microbiome, inflammatory conditions, hormonal status or oxidative damage.
Even the health of the mother during pregnancy and the type of our birth has significance.
A pregnant woman (Photo: ShutterStock)
The good news is that the exposome is responsible for 90 percent of our morbidity and genetics for only 10 percent, is that our destiny is in our hands: 90 percent of our morbidity stems from our diet, our lifestyle, and our environment.
In fact, according to the World Health Organization's estimate, about 50 percent of premature deaths worldwide are due to a number of environmental factors including diet, air pollution, and active and passive smoking.
How do all of our exposures (the exposome) affect health?
Get to know the term "epigenetics".
Epigenetics means changes that occur in the expression of the genes without there being a change in the genetic material.
Consider that each garden has an on/off switch that acts as a dimmer.
The environmental exposures can affect the effect switch and determine whether a certain gene will be expressed or not: this is epigenetics.
That is, you may have inherited a gene that puts you at risk of developing cancer, but if you maintain a healthy lifestyle, this gene will not be expressed.
The obesity epidemic that has existed in recent years demonstrates how much the environment can affect morbidity.
The genetics of the population has not changed from what it was 50 years ago, but during this period the percentage of people suffering from obesity has increased significantly.
So what changed during this period?
Our diet has changed and become a diet high in industrialized food and sugar, we are exposed to many chemical substances that can affect our hormones and encourage obesity, and we are exposed to high levels of stress that can affect our hormones and encourage obesity.
That is, it is the environment that leads to the obesity epidemic these days and not genetic changes in the population as a whole.
How do you reduce morbidity and improve health?
Recognizing that our environment, not our genetics, is the primary cause of illness and health shows that the power is in our hands: we can influence our health by the choices we make.
If genes were responsible for most of our disease, we wouldn't have much to do, but the fact that 90 percent of disease is due to environmental exposure gives us motivation to make changes and improve our health.
We talked about many environmental factors that can affect our health.
Of course, the more environmental factors we improve, the better our health will be.
In fact, there are a number of factors that if you invest in their improvement, your health will improve greatly: a balanced diet, strict exercise, quality sleep and no less important - managing your stress.
Dr. Dalit Driman Medina is an expert in family medicine, integrative and functional medicine - personal and scientifically based treatment for those suffering from chronic diseases
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